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Bob went out this morning to get a few groceries and all the local shops were closed! He finally found somewhere to buy food for our last few meals in Barcelona. We discover that today is Immaculate Conception Day, a Spanish National Holiday, and almost all the shops are closed. I had planned on shopping for a few last minute souvenirs and some sketchbooks that I really liked. No luck, so we catch the metro to Park Güell, where we spend our last day in Spain.

Our walk from the metro to the park is all uphill! Luckily there are escalators for the very steepest part of the climb. I liked the imagery of the two nuns walking in front of all the graffiti, and the ‘tree’ is actually a drain pipe with some sculptural concrete additions. I’m glad we don’t have to park here.

Park Güell is one of the most impressive public parks in the world. It was designed by Antonio Gaudi for Eusebi Güell and construction on a garden city started in 1900. There were to be sixty single family homes built but the project wasn’t successful and only two homes were actually completed. One of these, Gaudi’s residence, is now a museum and the other, Güell’s residence, is now a public school. The park became the property of the city of Barcelona in 1923 after Güell died and in 1984 it was declared a UESCO World Heritage Site.

We bought our tickets in advance as there are ‘only’ 400 people admitted to the Monumental Zone of the park every half hour. While we waited, we got some refreshments from a little shop that was built right into the rock cliff face. We entered at the Teatre Grec, or Nature Square, which is partly dug into the mountain and partly held up by the Hypostyle Room. There is a long undulating bench in the shape of a sea serpent which surrounds three sides of this square. The back of the bench forms a balustrade and the entire bench is covered in mosaics made with coloured ceramic shards most of which came from demolition projects and discarded objects.

I read that Gaudi had a workman drop his pants and sit on soft plaster so that he could figure out the correct shape of the bench seat so that it would be comfortable!”

There are great views from the square, both of the main entrance with its two whimsical buildings, and of Barcelona, all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The house on the left was the porter’s residence and the building on the right is now the gift shop.

The Hypostyle Room is under the square and it is a covered space that could be used for gatherings and markets. All the columns lean a bit this way or that, none of them are perpendicular to the ground. The columns hold up the square and rainwater collected on the square is filtered down through the columns into a cistern underneath the floor. It is quite amazing. Notice the dog’s head decoration.

At the main entrance there is the monumental flight of steps, flanked by two convex walls decorated with more mosaics, that leads up the Hypostyle Room.

These are some of the many different, colourful mosaic tiles on these stairway walls.

There are sculptures and three fountains on this flight of stairs but this one is the most famous. This brightly coloured salamander, or dragon, depending on what we read is a favourite of the people of Barcelona and most visitors. Everyone wants to touch it and take their picture beside, or even sitting on the salamander. There is a guard assigned specifically to prevent people from touching the salamander to prevent further damage. Thousands and thousands of touches eventually wear away the tiles and can cause breakage. It is an impossible job as nearly everyone attempts to make some sort of contact with this creature!

We head towards Portico of the Washerwoman, which starts near the main entrance, with a spiral ramp and columns in the shape of a spiral curve that ends at a rough caryatid known as the Washerwoman because she carries a basket of washing. This ramp takes us back to the Nature Square and we spend some more time here, enjoying the sunshine and the views, along with a bit of people watching.

On the other side of the square there is another walkway called Planters Viaduct, which we follow and end up in an interesting area with more strange leaning columns and stone chairs. This is such an incredible place! I can only guess at the hours and hours it took to create all this and wonder at Gaudi’s incredible vision and imagination.

There are so many fascinating details everywhere. It really is a visual feast and almost too much to absorb in one visit. I would have loved to draw some of this but there just isn’t enough time to see everything and draw too. On the way back to the square we meet this rather strange fellow.

I rather reluctantly say goodbye to this wonderful place. Just outside the park gates I see a building, which appears to be unoccupied, and announce that it would make a perfect studio for me! Oh well, I can dream, can’t I?

I love these zebras we see on the walk back to the metro.

It is a good thing that we got most of our cleaning and packing finished last night as we had some unexpected excitement tonight. The stairway in our apartment has one of those elevator chairs that run on a rail for handicapped people. Tonight a woman was on her way down the stairs on the chair and it stopped working. She was getting very upset and, even with Bob’s help, her husband was not able to get her out of the chair and down the stairs. Finally we suggested calling the fire department and soon they arrived. Six of these strong firefighters finally managed to get this poor lady out of her chair and safely down the stairs. It was quite the procedure, and it meant that for almost two hours no one could go up or down the stairwell .

Valencia’s Turia river was prone to flooding and after a particularly damaging flood in 1957 that destroyed many buildings and caused numerous deaths it was decided to divert the river to the outskirts of town. The old river bed through the centre of Valencia was developed as a nine kilometre sunken park, called the ‘Garden of the Turia’, complete with paths, ponds, fountains, playgrounds, climbing walls, gardens, trees, cafés and cultural buildings. This photo is from Google Images. I thought this was a brilliant idea.

We walked from the Old Town along this riverbed park all the way to the City of Arts and Sciences.

“The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia is one of the largest scientific and cultural complexes in Europe. It is made up of impressive buildings such as the Hemisfèric and Oceanogràfic, and stands out because of its avant-garde architecture, designed by renowned architects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela.

The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia is situated in a two-kilometre-long area on the old Turia River bed. It is made up of six large elements: the Hemisfèric (IMAX Cinema and digital films) the Umbracle (landscaped vantage point), the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum (an innovative interactive science centre), the Oceanogràfic (Europe’s largest aquarium with over 500 marine species), the Reina Sofía Palace of the Arts (dedicated to opera), and the Ágora (a multipurpose space in which concerts and many activities take place).The different centres here organise conferences, exhibitions, projections, guided tours and workshops related to science, technology, nature and art, designed to stimulate curiosity and learning with different types of audiences.~www.spain.info

We decide not to visit any of the exhibits as we simply don’t have enough time to visit six buildings full of exhibits and activities. So, wander with us as we explore…and if you want, there is even more information here.

Spanish cities are very densely populated as you can see from all these high rise apartments right beside the park. If you live in a Spanish city, you will most likely be living in an apartment!

Here are a few photos of Turia Park taken on our walk back to the metro station near Old Town Valencia.

Under one of the many bridges that carry traffic and pedestrians over the park we looked up and noticed these fantastic water spouts!

Another bridge had pedestrian walkways on each side of the roadway, bordered by these colourful flowers.

Parque Gulliver is the most amazing playground I have ever seen. I found this arial view here. I do need to find out how to properly credit photographs I ‘borrow’ from the internet.

Moda Lisboa|Estoril 30

Gulliver Park is an enormous playground with slides, ramps, caves and stairs based on the novel Gulliver’s Travels. I could not resist joining in on the fun but I was unable to convince Bob to join me. I found it quite interesting that there are no fences or railings anywhere on this giant sculpture of Gulliver even though there were many places where it would have been quite easy to fall from quite a height. I don’t think this playground would be allowed back home. If you Google ‘Valencia Gulliver Playground Images’ there are lots of more interesting photos.The washrooms beside this playground had the cutest signs we on the doors to the facilities.Just as the sun is setting we arrive back at our apartment complex.

It is our grandson’s seventh birthday today! I do miss not being home to celebrate it with him.

I forgot to mention the surprise we had yesterday morning. We were still in bed, with our balcony door open to enjoy the ocean breezes and the view, when we were shocked to see workmen standing on our balcony! Remember, we are in a penthouse apartment on the seventh floor! Turns out they are painting the building. There was a bit of paint smell yesterday but we thought they would be finished and we could put up with it for one day. Well, today we discover they are putting up more scaffolding, for more painting….

We contact the owner to see what is going on and plan a day trip to Ronda. The apartment is very nice otherwise.Ronda is one of the Pueblos Blanco, or White Villages that is located about an hour from our Airbnb apartment in Algeciras. The white villages are fortified hilltop towns and villages that are whitewashed in the Moorish tradition. Ronda sits on a massive rocky cliff and it straddles a deep limestone gorge. Because it was so heavily fortified and difficult to attack it was one of the last Moorish towns to fall to the Christians in 1485. It is still hard to realize that all this was happening before Columbus even set sail to discover the Americas! There is just so much history here.Ronda’s bullring is one of the oldest and most important bullrings in Spain, built in 1785. The dream of every matador is to fight here at Ronda.

We sit and have our lunch near the bullring, overlooking this valley below the town.

Then we wander along the cliff top and stop at a view point to take a few photos.A bit further along at another viewpoint I am a bit horrified to realize we were standing on a balcony like affair hanging out over the gorge. Look closely and you will see this liitle balcony. It doesn’t look very sturdy to me!The Puente Neuvo, or the New Bridge, was built in the 18th Century, and connects the newer part of town to the oldest area of town. We walk across it, and of course stop for even more photos. It is an amazing bridge, 120 meters above the river below.

There is a stone staircase of 231 steps down to the river in the Gorge. I was trying to convince Bob that we should walk down but once we saw this sign we changed our minds.Instead we walk through the old town, popping in and out of the shops to see what we might discover and then head out to find the Puente Viego, or the Old Bridge which was built in 1616. Today it is a pedestrian bridge and I stop to sit on “The Moor’s Armchair” right in the crook of the hairpin turn on the road to the bridge.

This Old Bridge spans the same gorge as the New Bridge, just in a different place. After crossing the bridge we head up a path towards some terraced viewing platforms and garden areas.Another view of the Old Bridge and the country side beyond the town, and the terraced gardens.This is the New Bridge from the terraced gardens below. Notice the white houses tucked into the cliffs in the shadow of the bridge.We wander through more of the Old Town, and I marvel at some of the places we find cars parked.On the drive home the air is very misty and there is this great example of arial perspective. Check out this link if you aren’t sure what arial perspective is all about. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_perspectiveMy camera has been giving me problems this entire trip. There is dust inside it that causes the spot visible in the sky in this picture and sometimes the settings just start jumping around and changing all on their own! One time it started taking every picture in triplicate! I am hoping it will keep working until the end of this trip. Any suggestions for a good camera? I think I will need to buy myself one for Christmas when I get home.

We tried to book a guided tour to visit Parque Nacional de Doñana, along the coast south of Seville, which is one of Europe’s greatest wetlands. It includes 50,000 hectares of marshes and sand dunes, which are home to thousands of migratory birds in the winter months. The tour company does not operate without a minimum of four passengers, and we are the only two, so we decided to visit the park on our own. This turned out very well and we had a relaxing day, even though we didn’t see many birds.

Along the road to the park we pass acre after acre of these domed greenhouses. We aren’t sure what they are growing but they cover field after field sometimes as far as we can see in all directions!

We also see lots of these coniferous trees. They have been planted in rows and the bottom branches have been pruned as they grow, yet they don’t seem to be a tree that would provide lots of lumber. I was not sure about these either, but I love the rounded shape of the top of them. After a little research I now know these are Stone Pines, they are grown for their pine nuts and in some areas they have become naturalized. For more information see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_pine

First stop is the Palacio Del Acebrón which was built in the 1960’s. The land around the Palacio was cleared, planted with Eucalyptus trees, gardens, paths and trails were built and a huge pond was dredged and lined so that plants would not fill it in.The building is now an interpretation centre, and we get there in time for a visit before it closes at two. These long Spanish lunch hours make it difficult to plan our day. Seems things are always closed when we are out and about and then opening again when we are ready to head home! Bob is checking out one of the displays.

We go for a hike through along a little river and through some of the grounds. What would a holiday be without at least one tree hugging picture?We hiked along another trail to some bird blinds but only saw a few ducks in the distance. We decide that the migratory birds either have not arrived yet, or it is too early in the day for viewing so we head for the ocean and the sand dunes. We walk a long ways down this beach, and I gather a few sea shells as souvenirs.

We also see this victim of a discarded fishing line. If you look closely you may make it out wrapped around this bird’s neck. We saw quite a lot of plastic debris washed up this beach.These are sand dune cliffs that line the length of the beach, as far as we can see, and our version of a ‘selfie’.

All too soon the sun begins to set so we head back to the car along this boardwalk through yet more sand dunes.We get to our car just as the sun sets. We didn’t see many of the birds that this park is famous for, but it was still a very enjoyable day.

There are several parks in Seville and one of the biggest is the Parque María Louisa, which is where we spend the afternoon today. We saw a lot of people dressed in T shirts, coloured tutus and tights covered in what looked like powdered paint. These two young ladies posed for me. Everyone looked like they were having a great time but we had no idea what it was all about.

I did some internet searching later and find out what the Colour Run is all about. Check out this link. https://ca.thecolorrun.com/about/ Basically it is a 5 km fun race whose objective is to have fun and get doused with coloured powder and party with a lot of other people! Eleven thousand people took part in Seville’s Color Run this year. I have included a link to a short youtube video that gives a pretty good idea of what it is all about. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y8bboQxGp9E

We had lots of fun just watching all the brightly coloured people walking by us after they finished the race and the after race party. Wish we had known about it in time to go watch the fun. It is an interesting day. We watch a bit of a dog show in Plaza de Espána. The very big and very small dog in the photo below were very interested in getting to know one another.The Plaza de Espána was built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition. It is a huge curved building complete with a semi circular canal. We caught a glimpse of Cinderella and the Prince who is running after her!The railings all along this building are blue and white ceramic with colourful ceramic posts.There are towers at each end of the building, which I read was used as a set in one of the Star Wars movies. We walked along the exact same route as Luke Skywalker in this short clip from the movie! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mVQyW1n5ECY

This sculpture, The Glorieta de Bécquer, depicts the three phases of love and someone had placed a fresh bouquet of white flowers in the arms of the woman depicting love passing. I thought it was very lovely and poignant.One of the many water features in the park. This one had very well fed ducks, who refused to eat yet another piece of bread, much to the disappointment of some cute little girls with their bags of food for the ducks.We watched people rowing on the canal, who had waited in a very long line up for the opportunity to circumnavigate the canal. Can you spot Bob?

One of the many wide paths through the park, which has a wide variety of very large trees. It was a lovely place to while away an afternoon.